Animorphs 55: Moving On
by G-V3
Summary: What happens after the last book, The Beginning?
1. Chapter 1

Animorphs #55

**Moving On

* * *

**

Chapter One

_Cassie_

My name is Cassie.

Four years.

It's been four years since the war with the yeerks.

A few months earlier, Jake, Marco, and Tobias went on a suicide mission to save Ax.

I know they're still out there somewhere kicking alien butt. But I'm the last Animorph on Earth. I sometimes think back and miss when we were still the Animorphs. When it was still Jake, Marco, Ax, Tobias, Rachel, and me.

Rachel…Rachel was dead. Was it because of Jake? Was it because he sent his own cousin to kill his brother?

I swallowed a lump in my throat. Thinking of those times made me feel so empty, so hollow, so alone. I knew it wasn't true. I was an international hero now. By now, everyone in the world probably knew me. I guess I should've been proud. I'd saved an entire species, but it just didn't feel right without my friends, the other Animorphs who had fought alongside me.

I stared at the gravestone in front of me. Rachel's gravestone. It had a dead rose underneath it, which had been from Tobias. I placed a new batch flowers. I had tried to move on for four years, but I knew my friendship with Rachel was irreplaceable. The thing with Jake and I was over too. All the things that had gone on in the war, was now the past. The day Rachel and I bumped into Jake, Marco, and Tobias at the mall and we decided to take the shortcut, which eventually led to the whole war. It made me sad to think that all of that was over. I knew it was a good thing that it was over, but we had lost Rachel and Tom. Now, Ax was in danger as well. Now, all it was were memories, happy and sad.

"Bye Rachel." A tear rolled down my cheek. Rachel had died as an honorable hero. I remembered watching her last moments. She had just demorphed. Then, a polar bear killed her with one blow. I couldn't take it anymore. It was too heartbreaking. I morphed to peregrine falcon.

While I was flying, I considered going to Rachel's house just to talk with her family. I decided it was too tragic. It wouldn't make me feel better. It would make me feel worse. Then, I spotted Ronnie Chambers, a friend of mine. (Hey Ronnie.) I said in thought-speak.

Ronnie looked up and spotted me. He gave me a warm smile and said, "Hey Cass." I landed on his shoulder and tried not to hurt him with my sharp talons.

"'Sup?" he said casually.

I felt a sudden urge to tell him my true feelings. I couldn't keep it bottled up inside me forever. (Rachel's death,) I said grimly.

He stopped walking and looked at me in my peregrine falcon morph. "I know it's hard Cassie. You just got to let it go. If you keep grieving about someone, eventually it'll drive you mad. Just treasure the memories, they'll be enough. Trust me," he said it with such an understanding voice.

(Have you ever lost anyone?) I asked caringly.

"Yes, I have… My sister Catherine, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when she was just twelve. I was nine at the time." He paused and took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, she didn't make it."

(Oh I'm sorry.) I said with sympathy.

"Naw, it's okay, really. She passed in her sleep, and that's the best way to go. Now I know she's with the angels. I know she's happy now, and would want us to be happy too. She would want us to move on."

I thought about what he'd just said. He had lost his sister. I had lost my best friend. Maybe he was right. Maybe the best way to cope with death was to move on and forget the past. Maybe that's what Rachel wanted. (Thanks Ronnie,) I said with a smile. (Hold on.) I told him. I jumped to the ground and demorphed.

After that, we walked for a long time without saying anything. He walked me to my house. "Thanks for the chat," I told him.

"No problem. It was fun," he answered.

"Well, I'm gonna go in now. Bye," I said.

"Bye," he replied. Then, he walked away.

I entered my house. "Cassie, you're home?" my mom said.

"Hey Mom. Where's Dad?" I asked. My mom's face turned pale.

"Cassie, there's something I need to tell you," she said. I looked at her in a puzzled way. "What is it, Mom?" I asked. "Your father…he was involved in an accident earlier today."

"Oh my god! Is he all right?" I burst.

My mother gave me a pitiful look. "Cassie, the doctors at the hospital said he didn't make it."

She broke down to tears. I was crying too. Sobbing actually. I was sobbing uncontrollably unable to stop. I thought Rachel's death was already too much to handle, and now I was finding out my father had died. I couldn't speak. My mom hugged me and patted me on the back softly, like old times. My mind was racing ahead of me. I was dismayed by the news, yet there was something else in my mind. I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to be here doing what I was doing. I had a feeling that I was _supposed_ to be somewhere else. I saw a flash of light and it was over. My mom was still crying and so was I.

That night, I grew restless. My heart was drowning in sadness, and what was that flash of light? Suddenly, a thought hit me. I remembered long ago, a Drode had told me that I was an Anomaly, which meant that no matter what fake time line he made for me, I'd be able to squeeze right past it and see the truth. I never told anyone about it, not even the other Animorphs. So what was the flash of light? Was it just my imagination, or was it something more?

I got up to get a drink of water and to hopefully get my mind cleared up. Rachel, Tom, and now my dad. Was this some kind of death streak? I knew I was thinking crazy. I cleared my throat and tried to forget everything. I couldn't.

And right when I was about to sip my glass of water, everything went dead quiet. No more crickets, no more hustling wind. I let go of the cup and it stayed there in mid air. Then, a bright light appeared in the distance. As it came closer, I saw two figures. I recognized the Ellimist, an old time friend I hadn't seen for a long time. And behind him, was someone I never thought I'd see again. Right then, I felt tears fill my eyes. "Hi Cassie," she said. My voice shook from emotion as I said, "Hi Rachel."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Tobias

We were still on our ship, _The Rachel_.

"How many Cinnabons do we have left?" Marco asked Jake. Jake shrugged.

"Not enough," he answered.

Great. Jake was going to kill us all. It was his fault Rachel was dead. "When do we head back to Earth, Jake?" Jeanne Gerard, a female French trainee Jake had sent on this suicide mission, asked. Jake shrugged again. I was frustrated. We'd been in orbit for too long. It had been months. We'd been in orbit for months and all we had to eat were Cinnabons.

I knew it was driving me mad. I was furious at Jake. In the many months we were in orbit, I'd been thinking about Rachel. She was gone forever all because of Jake. If I was in human morph, I knew I would've been crying already.

No one spoke for a few moments, unsure what to say. Then, Marco said, "Hey Jake. Tomorrow…isn't it Rachel's birthday?" I felt like I was being choked. I watched Jake fiercely. He bit his lip.

"Yes," he whispered in a way that sounded close to a gasp. "Yes, it is."

Jake briefly made eye contact with me, and then looked away.

Suddenly, Sergeant Santorelli and Menderash rushed into the room. "Jake! It—it's the Blade ship!" Menderash screamed. "Everyone, battle mode!" Jake cried. Jeanne and Sergeant Santorelli were on the navigation. Jake, Marco, and Menderash ran to the weapon controls. ((Hold your fire,)) a voice from out of nowhere said. "Who said that?" Marco asked. It was dead quiet.

_BAM_! We were rammed from behind! "Man, they hit us bad!" Menderash exclaimed. Jeanne and Santorelli turned the ship around. We were aborting everything. We speeded quickly away, but the Blade ship followed closely behind, firing.

Finally, after flying for about ten minutes, they disappeared from sight. "We lost them!" Jeanne said happily. "Only, where are we?" Marco asked. I flew over to the GPS. It wasn't working properly. Maybe it had been damaged by the impact of the hit.

(We're lost,) I said bitterly in thought-speak. It had been the first time since I talked, so everyone turned their attention toward me. I only stared at Jake. He looked away and said, "That was close. Be alert."

"My question now is how do we get back to Earth? Everything looks the same! Which way is left, which way is right?" Marco said.

We all looked at Jake. He didn't look like the leader he once did when we were still the old Animorphs. He looked helpless. "I don't know!" he cried.

His tone surprised us all. It was frightening. He slumped down and said in a calmer sadder tone, "All I know is, at least we will die with honor."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Cassie_

"Rachel! It's really you! How are you here?" I asked. My voice was quivering uncontrollably.

"Cassie, I wish we could talk longer. I really do, but my time here is limited. If Crayak found out…well, he won't. Cassie, I have to warn you about something."

"What is it?" I asked, wiping my eyes with my hand.

"It's this thing. It's—," Rachel started.

"We must go _now_!" the Ellimist boomed. They started fading. Just like that, Rachel was leaving. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to say more.

"No!" I cried, weeping.

"The One!" her voice echoed. Then, both the Ellimist and Rachel were gone.

I didn't have time to think. _SMASH_! My glass of water clattered onto the floor and broke. I bent down to pick up the broken glass and cut my finger on it. I decided to wait until the next morning. As I was getting a band-aid for my finger, I wondered. What was _The One_?

7:30A.M.

I woke up early. I saw Rachel. Had it all been a dream? After getting cleaned up, I headed downstairs. The glass of water I had broken. It wasn't there. "Mom!" I called. She didn't respond. I guess she was still sleeping. I searched for the glass of water. I was sure I had come down here the night before. I had even cut my finger.

I stared at my finger. The band-aid was still there. What happened to the rest of the evidence? Maybe I was really going crazy. Maybe at this very moment, I was lying in a mental hospital.

"Mom!" I called again. This time, I heard her heavy footsteps come down the stairs. "What is it?" she asked. "Did you clean it up?" I asked her. If she had, she would've known what I was referring to.

"Clean what? I was sleeping the whole time. I don't know what you're talking about." She yawned.

"Never mind," I said.

She headed back upstairs. I sighed. My finger throbbed. I peeled off the band-aid and saw a small piece of glass still stuck in it. I yanked it out and washed my finger in the sink. Now I was sure it had happened. It had to have.

_The One_, Rachel's last words to me before she disappeared with the Ellimist. I knew this _One_ was important. So important that Rachel had to see me in person to tell me. I just had no clue what it was.

I wished the others were here on Earth with me. Then, I could call them up and we could all ponder over it together, just like before. I missed the old days. "Leave the past behind, this is your life now," I said to myself.

So much for a happy ending. All my friends were gone. Everyone who had actually been there with me the whole way. What kind of life was I living? Sure I was rich, but friends were priceless, and mine were out risking their lives while I was living peacefully on Earth. I wish I had gone with them.

The doorbell rang. I ran up to it and opened the door. Ronnie was there, smiling.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by," he said.

"Ronnie, you live twelve blocks away," I said.

He shrugged. Man I was happy to see him. There is a term, "saved by the bell". In this case, that's what happened. If he never showed up, I would still be thinking about how crappy my new life was. I was glad. It was just a strange vibe I got everything Ronnie was around. It confused me.

Author's Notes: Hint, the strange vibes I'm talking about isn't 'love' just so you know. I didn't want to get anyone off track here. Also, sorry if these two chapters I updated seem crappy to you. I just couldn't think of anything. The main idea will be interesting though.


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